Local Artist’s Unique Way of Creating Abstract Art

Olivia Barney is a Santa Cruz local, originally from Seattle. She works as an esthetician, specializing in eyelash extensions.

A unique vision came to Olivia over a year ago: an untapped artistic potential exists in the remains of eyelash glue leftover from each extension session.

She found that on what she had initially regarded as “trash” displayed subtle and intricate beauty in the form of not only the drops and lines of charcoal-black glue but also in the wear and tear from fingerprints, dust and chemical reactions of the glue and plastic.

Each plastic strip contained an entire cosmos in miniature, and the notion of turning these scraps into art lit a fire in Olivia. This formed the basis & origin of her abstract art, which is a feast of colors & shapes.

She has had her work displayed in 8 art shows and group exhibits in Santa Cruz & San Francisco which includes her debut at Open Studios art walk last October. She is currently at The Art Cave in the old Wrigley Building sharing space with other local women artists where she’s been experimenting in the Fab Lab.

Some of her pieces are currently featured at the East Cliff Brewing Company for the month of April.

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For more information: www.rocktheblot.com